Story:Triangulum Calling
A story leading up to the Triangulum Arc. Chapter One Along the hapt-board little lines of yellow light raced and danced, tangling then separating, lithely passing around flashing symbols and disappearing behind video feeds only to reappear seconds later on the far side. Green squares and triangles followed in their wakes, each carrying a single word or image as its cargo, navigating the maze that was the membrane-thin glass screen. With a sweep of his pincer, Yavul sent a dozen feeds to one side of the board, revealing a tangle of patterns that scurried away back into the cover of their associated programs. "Open comms channel three to the Sequence." In the empty space he had created a new window emerged, increasing in size to fill the space snugly. It would be text-only; tachyon communication had too low a bitrate for video communication (at least at this time) and there wasn't much to see within a lifecube anyway. He watched a familiar series of lines appear upon the pane. ' ): SGF GIV Terrathos/L. Adm. Yavul/TeT4k7m> >): Sequence/QwR1b7n> ' He sighed quietly and began to type. >Greetings. The reply took about half a second. >>Hello, Admiral. >I was told you would be expecting a communique; the matter of the Geturin Emergency. >>That is correct. We understand that you are to pass on all relevant information to us. >Indeed. I am beginning to transfer the file. (transferring file: .../getu1_for_sequence.xc)(1.04kB)(ETA: 29.4 seconds) >This is something that I am sure you recognise calls for a delicate touch. We don't need any members of the public discovering that anything is amiss. >>We understand. Naturally no mention of the topic will be made to any individuals outside of those who need to know. >Appreciated, Seq. >>You have a cover story ready? >Naturally. However, it is Admiral Hasur who will be transmitting that. >>Then with the arrival of this file, we will have nothing further to talk about? >Nothing relevant to the emergency, no. >>Very well. Expect a Lifecube representative to be dispatched to join the 16th Fleet as soon as is possible. (file transfer complete) >That's us done, then. >>Have a nice day, Admiral. >You too, Seq. '' He flicked the window away and watched it shrink to nothing as it approached the edge of the hapt-board. Feeds and textbars were shunted in to replace where it had been, and the screen returned to its normal messy state. "Pilot?" The synthesised voice of the ship's VI replied. "Yes, admiral?" "Set course as expected. Begin acceleration." "Yes, admiral." He was gently pushed back against his seat as the ship gathered speed, a cone of ten-thousand degree plasma forming and blazing behind it. The planet rotating below began to decrease in size, the details of mountain ranges, rivers, and cities blurring into obscurity. Soon it was just a smudged blue dot, its moon a pinprick of grey behind it, as the GIV Terrathos sped towards the system's outer reaches and an area of space flat enough to activate its shift-drives for the journey to the Bathk system. Chapter Two Only a few slivers of light entered the room through the barred window; they illuminated the motes of dust that glided slowly through the air and then vanished from view as they met the darkness once more. As the sun moved through the sky, the shafts crept along a cast iron bed, illuminating first the legs; then the greasy, stained mattress; then a three-clawed, black-scaled foot. The toes flexed as they felt the slight increase in warmth, and two more feet appeared to join it. Kashnar opened his eyes, the thick eyelids moving up to reveal discs of iridescent green with no trace of sclera or pupil. They bulged outwards, unblinking, and took in the same room as they had done each day for so long. Grey walls, padded and thick. An armoured door, looking deceptively fragile from here; he knew it was at least a foot thick. The ceiling was barely greater than his standing head height and the room was wide enough only for three of his long paces. A tray, with a bowl of mush upon it, emerged from a cavity in the wall which promptly shut with a metal clang. He went to the tap that was stuck into the wall and drank greedily, water streaming down his jaw and neck, then knocked his head back and shook it angrily from side to side to get rid of any remaining tiredness. He walked over to the door and scratched another line into the metal to mark the new day. Reaching out with one pincer, he took hold of the bowl and moved it closer in order to take in the scent. Warm, slightly acidic. It was, allegedly, a balanced meal in half a kilo of pale yellow pulp. He emptied the stuff into his mouth and chewed it over; he had learned to ignore the unpleasantness by now, but was still interested to see just what quantity of depressants had been added. Plenty. He laughed quietly and sat down hard on the mattress, looking up at the window, each eyelet adjusting to deal with the brightness of sunlight. It was the boredom that was the real punishment. Yet Kashnar was holding together well enough. He awaited the arrival of his four Laetrus guards and suddenly the various bruises over his body began to ache, as if to remind him what was going to happen now. At the faint sound of footsteps in the hallway, he stood up on all three legs and turned to face the door, smiling lopsidedly. There was a grinding as the wheel on the other side was turned, and the door inched open, revealing grizzled, box-shaped heads and four pairs of very hostile eyes. "Just can't leave me alone, can you?" Kashnar stepped towards them, rising up to his full height, teeth revealed in a vicious grin. He felt a shock like lightning to his chest, but did not let it shake him, tensing up hard. Another shock came, and another, and he knew he would have to give sometime. He could barely understand Sheiv, the language they were speaking, but could read from their angry tone well enough. He moved forward again, looking down at the stocky guards, and moving through the door. Feeling his left arm begin to jerk wildly, he used his right to grab one of his torturers around the neck and began to strangle him. With his front leg he tripped another and then kicked them hard in their belly, each claw scoring a long gash in its flesh. There was a shout from down the hallway; an officer. An actual Shekeshta now; not a common sight in a prison. Kashnar recognised the insignia of an NBS Commodore and frowned. What would a commodore be doing here? The two free Laetrus guards stepped away. Kashnar let the one he was strangling drop to the ground, choking, and then let the one under his foot struggle free. All four, now, retreated to a good distance, still swearing and cursing at him in their language. He watched the Commodore approach, slightly interested. It was taller than him, its tail held slightly above the ground and its strange forked arms held close to its body. The huge crest on its head, slightly v-shaped and patterned with red circles, bobbed slightly as it walked. It opened its mouth and spoke to him in accented Sxhax. "Kashnar Ghual?" "Yeah?" "Terrorist and spy, responsible for over eight hundred deaths among the citizens of the Blood-King?" "If you mean hero, yeah?" "Please follow me." The Shekeshta turned away and began to walk out. Kashnar followed, cautious, and extremely suspicious. Chapter Three Under a roof of leafy branches, dappled by sun and with a gentle breeze creeping amongst the foliage, two children scurried from trunk to trunk. One was Djeri, and the other Manxa; both the same age and still carrying their school backpacks. A curious hashqua watched from above, its long tail flicking from side to side as it nibbled on a cylindrical fruit. "Give it back! I need it back!" Called the Manxa, falling behind, hand outstretched and pleading. "Only if you catch me, Daen!" The Djeri raced onwards, a huge grin on his vertical mandibles, with the stolen textpad in one hand. His four legs gave him the speed advantage, but Daen was relying on his friend tiring of the game rather than getting caught. "It's not fair, Tesh! This isn't fair, because four legs is cheating!" "You wouldn't be saying that if you were Djeri!" There was a sudden flash of light as Tesh reached the edge of the forest and ran out onto the torgrass pastures. He stopped for a moment to look up, and then brought up a hand to shade his eyes, his smile disappearing. Daen rushed up behind him and grabbed the book. "Ha! I got it! I'm too fast for you!" Tesh didn't even look. "Hey, Daen. Isn't that a strange cloud?" They looked together at the horizon, where a blurry grey-brown mushroom rose up into the heavens. For a few seconds, they continued to watch, mouths agape and eyes wide. It lay directly over the town. The sky became greyer with each passing moment and the cloud now hung there, textured like pumice, brooding over the skyline and obscuring the mountains beyond. Tesh looked at Daen and Daen looked at Tesh. There was a sudden noise, loud as heavy traffic, as the airblast reached them. It felt like a strong wind on their skins, pushing them determinedly back, and then gradually subduing. Behind them, the forest erupted into a cacophany of rustling and creaking as the shockwave passed through, and flying animals took off into the sky, squawking and barking. "What do we do?" "We need to get help." Tesh tried to sound confident, but it wasn't working. He ground his teeth together gently and then turned back the way they had come. "Let's go." Category:Articles by User:Holbenilord